Uncategorized
Review: 'Climbing Fitz Roy 1968'
![Avatar photo](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/megan-paulson-46x46.jpg)
![Avatar photo](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/megan-paulson-46x46.jpg)
Published
11 years agoon
Patagonia Books, September 2013
By Emily Wolfe Explore Big Sky Managing Editor
In 1968, four climbers drove south from Ventura, Calif. through Mexico and Central America, surfing and skiing as they went.
“We were just another small group of mountain and ocean yahoos off for a long On The Road, Kerouac-type adventure, with all kinds of spurious excuses that this was what life was really about,” wrote Tompkins, in the new book co-authored by the five, Climbing Fitz Roy, 1968.
This was an important time in American history: 1968 was the height of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated; the civil rights and feminist movements came to a head; and the astronauts on Apollo 8 captured the first ever photograph of Earth in its entirety.
But the “funhogs,” as they called themselves, were on their own journey.
“I admit it, we were drunk on our own self-righteous justifications for doing something significant, when in truth it was really about skirting doing anything that had some social or environmental worth,” Tompkins wrote.
The crew bought supplies in Bariloche, Argentina, and after 16,500 miles and 3 ½ months on the road, they finally saw the Fitz Roy Range jutting some 8,000 feet from the Patagonian steppe, silhouetted by the setting sun. In a trip report for the 1969 American Alpine Journal, Tompkins described how he felt at that moment:
The men spent 60 days climbing Fitz Roy – 31 of those waiting out the weather in snow caves high on the mountain. Their route, The California Route, was the third up the iconic granite peak and was one of the most important climbs of that year.
The trip had a profound affect on each of them, says Dorworth, who lives part-time in Bozeman. “That climb kind of structured my life … . I climbed and became a guide for the next 30-some years because of [it].”
Now 45 years later, the book offers insight into a moment in mountaineering history, and a turning point in the outdoor industry. Published by Patagonia Books – an offshoot of the clothing company – the 144-page linen-bound hardcover includes writing from Dorworth, Jones, Tompkins and Tejada-Flores, and captions from Jones and Chouinard.
True to form, however, it’s mostly photos – Jones took them all, but lost them in a house fire in 1996. When Dorworth produced duplicates several years later, the book was born.
“[It’s perhaps] true in any group of people who climb, that they’re doing different climbs because they’re coming from different places.”
Perhaps this is true not only for climbing, but for life.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ebs_logo_white_220px.png)
![](https://www.explorebigsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ebs_logo_white_220px.png)
Upcoming Events
august, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and
serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the
Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice to
invigorate your day of adventure ahead. Complimentary. Weather
permitting.
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 7:00 am - August 31 (Saturday) 7:00 am
Location
Montage Big Sky
995 Settlement Trail
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 10 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 19 (Monday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 17 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 26 (Monday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Hike Big Sky is a FREE guided hike for our community and visitors alike. A different trail will be featured each Monday at 9 a.m. Visit BSCO.org for trail description
Event Details
Hike Big Sky is a FREE guided hike for our community and visitors alike. A different trail will be featured each Monday at 9 a.m. Visit BSCO.org for trail description information. Please wear layers, bring water and snacks. Bear spray recommended.
Time
June 24 (Monday) 9:00 am - August 26 (Monday) 12:00 pm